Creative ways to retrieve a duck.

[EN1796]

I would just like to hear some stories and/or creative methods that people use/used to retrieve downed ducks and geese. Since my Chocolate Lab is 13 1/2, her best days are behind her so she is not an option any more
I was thinking of taking an old fishing pole and putting high test line on it with a large hula popper.

[2001rotax800]

I have tied corn stalks together, and tippy toed up to my chest, only to wave the water fill my waders, but I did make the retreive. I had contemplated stripping down and swimming, really was not a real cold day. I hate to see a downed bird lost, and would burn up precious shooting time to make sure we bag the birds we shoot.

[hunting man]

only shoot over land

[drs]

My buddy in Texas uses a Jitterbug seems to get his birds.

[Adam Gibbs]

it involves filling up the waders with water, standing in a jetsled way to small to support someone my size, and using an Ugly Stik to get a bird that was still 30 yards away.

[griffondog]

Or get a hunting partner with a dog.

Griff

[justbehindit]

Make a friend who has a good retriever and take that person hunting with you.

[just ducky]

One funny story, and one practical tip...

Years ago hunting Harsen's, back when we were a lot younger, and a lot more foolish we used to walk in to some of the zones carrying all of our gear. Pretty easy to do at some of the zones there. So it's an afternoon hunt in late October, sunny, but probably 50 degrees out. We're the end zone on one of the strips, maybe 100 yds from the ditch on the end. About 10 minutes before close, my buddy stones a mallard on a passing shot, but the momentum takes the bird all the way down, and it lands across the ditch. It's stone dead, but we have no way of getting across the ditch except to walk around, and it's a looooong walk to get around. We're standing on some dry ground scratching our heads and figure we have a couple options...walk all the way around to get it, or wait until a boat comes by on the way out after close and ask them to grab it for us. All of sudden I look over and my buddy is stripping down his clothes...gets buck naked, and jumps in! Couldn't believe it! My other buddy starts yelling "fetch boy, fetch" He grabs the duck, comes back, and puts his clothes back on. He's wet, but he got his duck. It's now past closing time, so we picked up our stuff and headed home.

The practical tip, which I learned years ago from a friend jump-shooting woodies. several times I dropped a duck where I couldn't reach it, so I'd sit there tossing logs and things to try to push the bird to shore. I thought about carrying a fishing pole. But this friend taught me to carry a small spool of strong test fishing line in my jacket. If you drop a duck in the water and have no way to retrieve it, take a chunk of stick maybe two feet long, and preferrably with a few short branches on it, tie it to the fishing line, and toss the stick past the duck. Picture a floating claw. Then you just carefully retrieve the stick, snagging the duck, and pull it all back in. It may take several tosses until you get the duck to shore, but this works every time. And carrying a spool of fishing line takes practically no space or weight.

[EN1796]

Carrying a spool of line is a very very good idea! I have a JetSled XL so if I have to I could use it like a small boat. I actually tried it in my pool earlier this summer and it worked pretty well. No matter the situation, I am going to find a way to get that duck!

[GoneFishin]

Being old, retired, no longer agile, and only 3 mo. after knee surgery I used this method last year on a small pond (1 - 2 acres).

Knocked a duck down just past wadable water. It was breezy so I sat down on shore and waited for it to blow to the other side of the pond. Just as it was about to reach the other shore my original plan for retrieval showed back up (from a long retrive on a goose he had shot), daddyduck, who is a lot younger and limber than I walked the 100 - 200 yds to pick it up.

Patience does have it's rewards.

By the way daddyduck takes hand signals very well ..........
he also gives 'em back.

[Quakstakr]

Does anyone remember, there used to be a remote controlled decoy. You could make it swim and then operate the head and jaw assembly. It could clamp down on a duck and make the retrieve.

I'm guessing they were too expensive, causing them to go out of business.

I thought they were called Robo Duck. Not to be confused with Robo Duk

[LumberJ]

Originally Posted by just ducky

One funny story, and one practical tip...

... All of sudden I look over and my buddy is stripping down his clothes...gets buck naked, and jumps in! Couldn't believe it!...

The practical tip, which I learned years ago from a friend jump-shooting woodies. several times I dropped a duck where I couldn't reach it, so I'd sit there tossing logs and things to try to push the bird to shore. I thought about carrying a fishing pole. But this friend taught me to carry a small spool of strong test fishing line in my jacket. If you drop a duck in the water and have no way to retrieve it, take a chunk of stick maybe two feet long, and preferrably with a few short branches on it, tie it to the fishing line, and toss the stick past the duck. Picture a floating claw. Then you just carefully retrieve the stick, snagging the duck, and pull it all back in. It may take several tosses until you get the duck to shore, but this works every time. And carrying a spool of fishing line takes practically no space or weight.

Been there, done that Hunting with my brother in Alaska last fall and he decided to head back to the truck early with the dog. A few minutes later I jump shot a few Goldeneyes just out of reach. I ended up stripping down and fetching them. Brrrrrr. The next time I had cord with me though so I did exactly like you'd mentioned and tied it to a branchy stick and threw past the birds and reeled it back in.

[DEDGOOSE]

k l r

[Far Beyond Driven]

Hunting a farm pond on the opener I stoned a drake woodie dead nuts in the middle of the pond. No breeze. Used a little cleo (floater would have been better as my casting skills were poor) on my pier rod to cast for it.

Caught three bass including an 18" before I got the duck.

[GoneFishin]

Originally Posted by Far Beyond Driven

......Caught three bass including an 18" before I got the duck.

Did ya have a fish fry with your duck?